


Servant of Ma'at

by lucidscreamer



Series: 100 Yu-Gi-Oh Prompts [7]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Backstory, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Ancient Egypt, Gen, Horror, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Violence, Vampire Atem, Variations on Ancient Egyptian Religion, Violence Against Zombies, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-18 14:09:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18251420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucidscreamer/pseuds/lucidscreamer
Summary: "Unnatural beast." Atem made the words a curse, as the stench of it wafted into his face. This close, he could see maggots writhing in the open wounds where chunks of putrid flesh had fallen or been ripped away, exposing the viscera in the thing's abdomen.Even in death, the Pharaoh is a servant of Ma'at.





	Servant of Ma'at

Pharaoh Atem loped across barren desert sands with the swift, ground-eating stride of a hunting cheetah, a silent shadow flowing across the moonlit landscape. He moved with the confidence of one for whom the darkness held no fears, his steps light and sure. Despite the full, silver disk of the moon at his back, no shadow fled before him. Sharp eyes, newly night-adapted, easily picked out the obstacle before him; he leaped with the agility of a gazelle, clearing the sharp outcropping of weathered rock in one graceful step, not even slowing as he landed lightly on the other side.

A part of Atem thrilled at his body's new power. His eyes were as sharp as a falcon's, his nose keen as a hunting hound's to the scents brought to it on the wind. His skin prickled with the brush of that same wind as it ruffled his hair and plucked at his linen kilt. His chest was bare except for the gleaming gold pendant that hung from its chain around his neck. He barely noticed the wind, despite the strands of hair it fluttered into his eyes. He brushed his hair back with a careless gesture, then froze as the stench of his quarry reached him.

The odor choked the breath in his throat. It was the cloying stench of death, of rotting flesh and blood, decay… and _heka bin_ , evil magic. The wrongness of the thing clawed at his senses, both physical and otherwise. It was an abomination, an offense against ma'at. Whatever else he had become, he was still Pharaoh, and as such, could not allow this abomination's existence to continue. It disturbed the right and proper order of things. It was _isfet_ incarnate. Only by destroying it could ma'at be restored.

His lips drew back in a feral snarl, baring a flash of long white fangs, as he crept along the spine of a rocky outcropping. His eyes narrowed when he spotted it, shuffling toward him across the loose sand below his vantage point. The creature's graying flesh hung on its bones, barely covered by the tattered remains of once-pristine linen. Gold glinted at its throat and on one wrist, the faint jangle of bracelets sounding with each lurching step. It wore a single leather sandal, and a heavy wig of dark curls perched askew on its lolling head. Fresh blood coated the front of its body, and the shreds of its long linen sheath. From where he stood, he could not see its face, but he knew it would be smeared with the same damning, crimson stains. The thing, formerly one of the noble ladies of the royal household, had killed again.

He vowed this murder would be its last.

Sharp talons cut into his palms as his hands clenched tighter. He lifted his hands and watched as tiny flickers of Shadow, released from his blood, coiled about the shallow wounds. The dark tendrils licked at his flesh and the cuts healed, as if they had never been there. But the wind had shifted, and the scent of his blood had caught the attention of the Soulless One.

He bared long fangs as the creature shambled toward him, its clawed hands reaching up for him. The fetid odor of rotting meat raised his hackles. He fought down his rising gorge as the creature fixed death-clouded eyes upon him.

" _Unnatural beast_." He made the words a curse, as the stench of it wafted into his face. This close, he could see maggots writhing in the open wounds where chunks of putrid flesh had fallen or been ripped away, exposing the viscera in the thing's abdomen. He leaped lightly down from the outcropping, landing on the sand before the monster. " _Defiler_. Evil-doer!"

Ignoring his words, the thing lurched at him. Cold hands grasped at his arms, seeking to pull him into the creature's bony embrace. Its jaws gaped too wide, as if unhinging in the manner of a snake, fangs snapping at him. Revulsion shuddered through him. He knocked aside its grasping hands, shoving the creature off-balance for a moment. It groaned, a harsh rattle of air in a throat half-gone. Something black and slimy wriggled in the gaping hole beneath its chin.

With the swiftness of a cobra, he struck, driving his talons into the monster's chest. His fingers closed around a cold, unbeating heart as he passed judgment. "Your heart bears witness against you! In the name of Ma'at--"

The creature howled as he ripped the organ from its seat in her chest and crushed it in his hand. As the rank pulp oozed between his fingers, the creature slumped to the ground, truly dead at last.

He felt a moment's relief, tempered with the knowledge that the woman whose body lay before him had been consigned to oblivion by the fiend that killed her. Her _ka_ and _ba_ were gone, her body desecrated. Her heart could never be weighed before Orisis in the Hall of Two Truths. She would never reside in the Field of Offerings or rise as an effective spirit, an _akh_. While Atem had protected his people by killing the monster, he nonetheless felt he had failed this woman. She had been of his household, under his protection, and now she was denied not only her life, but her afterlife. And, in truth, his fate was little better. Though he still walked the earth, his soul was trapped in this half-life, denied peace. Would he ever be permitted into the halls of Osiris? And, if it such came to pass, would Atem's heart balance the scales of judgment against the feather of Ma'at? Or would the Devourer feast? Despite his prayers and the workings of his priests, he was no closer to answers than he had been on the night he Changed.

Putting his dark thoughts aside, he bent to scrub his hands clean on the sand. A noise, the soft whisper of sand shifting beneath shuffling feet, reached his ears and he stilled, motionless as he listened. He inhaled deeply, detecting perfumed unguents overlaid on the cloying stench of death and decay. Rising, he prepared himself to face the new creature stalking him. He could feel it at his back, cold and filled with both malice and Shadows.

" _Husband_ ," it whispered. Its raspy voice was a twisted echo of what it had been in life.

Hardening his heart, Atem straightened to his full height, squared his shoulders, and turned to confront the dead thing that wore the face of his Great Royal Wife.

　

o0o

　

 

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. No copyrigt infringement is intended nor should be infered.
> 
> prompt: 5. Truth (100 YGO Prompts)  
> prompt: 08. Regret (10 Vampires)
> 
>  
> 
> Notes: This began as part of a NaNo attempt. It went in so many directions that nothing coherent ever came of it, so I'm salvaging scenes as I can. I may make it a short series of ficlets. Also, this is where I first began formulating the basic idea for my zombies (and vampires) as they appear in "Walking Shadows" and "At Stake".
> 
> Ma'at -- the Right Order of Things, universal order, justice, truth, balance, etc. It's a complicated concept.
> 
> Isfet -- disorder, chaos; basically, the opposite of ma'at. Considered a Very Bad Thing by the ancient Egyptians (and modern Kemetics).


End file.
